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About Us

JAPAN UNIQUE GIFTS is an online shop operated by YAQMO as a portal site to the world of Japanese culture. Our aspiration is to introduce unique items handcrafted in limited quantities in Japan and make them available for purchase worldwide. We are starting off with a small selection of gifts, but with plans to steadily seek out more and more superlative artisans and offer an ever wider and more varied array of unique items. Please let us know if there is something special you would be interested in, and we will do our best to add it to our list! Click here to send your feedbacks.

Japanese urushi lacquer has been applied for use in tableware, jewelry, interior decor, furnitures, musical instruments to name a few from ages past, in fact, the oldest lacquerware found in Japan dates back 9,000 years in Jomon Period (145–10 BC). Urushi's highly durable and glossy finish were favored from court nobles, high rank samurais and eventually to the public, and various decorative techniques were developed over a time.

One of the traditional craft which creates stunning effect to the lacquerware is called Raden, originated in Nara Period (710–794). The craft calls for a demanding craftsmen to cut the linings of shells, such as from mother-of-pearl, abalone and various other shells with iridescent qualities and delicately set into or pasted to the surface to create decorative designs of birds and flowers or geometric patterns. The process often takes repetitive application of lacquer, grinding, smoothing to bring out the glow and beauty of the shells and making it one of a kind Raden lacquerware.